Page 33 of The Cursed Highland Bride

“There is nae much left for them tae take,” Adamina admitted.

“They could take our lives,” Dunn reminded her. “All o’ our lives.”

“And there would be nae one tae stop them,” his grandmother warned.

“Nae one but us.” Dunn met each of his family member’s eyes in turn. “This cannae fail.”

“Then make yer wife happy,” Adamina admonished. “She is important tae keeping the peace.”

Dunn sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I dinnae believe that I am the man tae make her happy.”

His grandmother snorted. “She need only do her duty. Happiness is nae required.” All three of her grandchildren gave her a look that said she knew better.

“That may be true o’ most, but that is nae going tae aid us. If she is happy here, she will be less likely tae spy for her faither. If she is happy here, that gives us the advantage,” Tor pointed out.

“Ye could make her happy,” Adamina argued, ignoring their grandmother’s words. “All ye need do is treat her with kindness and respect. Keeping yer mistresses around her is nae helping.”

“I told ye what happened,” Dunn reminded her.

“Aye, ye did, but she does nae ken the truth.” Adamina leveled a look at him that said he was old enough to know better. “And whether ye bed them or nae, it is nae good for a wife tae be made tae live with such shame. Nae woman should be made tae live with the shame o’ a man whom she did nae choose for herself.”

“I can see tae yer women,” Tor offered jovially, a teasing sparkle in his eye. “They will be well cared for.”

“From what I have been told, ye do so already,” Dunn retorted, lifting a brow in amusement.

Tor shrugged. “I am nae married.”

“Ye should be,” their grandmother chastised. “Perhaps I will arrange something for ye.”

Tor looked to Dunn for help, panic in his eyes. “I dinnae need a wife, nae yet.”

Dunn nodded in agreement. “There is time enough for that. We may need tae make an advantageous alliance.”

Tor made a face but did not argue. He knew his duty and would do it if it came down to it; Dunn was sure. Both brothers looked at Adamina and knew that it would be her time to wed soon enough, and Dunn prayed that she would make a good match that would give her a happy life. He would not wish his wife’s fate on his own sister. A wave of guilt washed over him at the thought. If his sister married a man who behaved the way he did with Katarina, he would have beaten him senseless for causing her pain.

“I will strive tae make Katarina more comfortable.”

His grandmother frowned in disapproval. “Why does the Lady Kathrine prefer the name Katarina? It is of the east, is it nae?”

“Her maither called her so,” Dunn explained.

The group fell silent, all knowing exactly what it was like to have lost a mother. The pain never fully left one’s heart. “It is a bonnie name,” Adamina defended her sister-in-law. “I prefer it tae Katherine myself.”

Their grandmother raised her hand in surrender. “I will say nae more about it.”

Dunn ran a hand over his face in an attempt to erase the emotions he was feeling. The image of his mother’s dead face flashed before his eyes. It shook him every time. Even all of these years later, the image had not faded. He could see it on the faces of his siblings as well. They all shared a knowing look with one another, and Adamina reached out a hand to each of her brothers. “She may be a Morgan, but she is also as we are. Our pain binds us.”

Dunn gave her hand a squeeze. “Our pain may bind us, but that does nae change the history between our families. It was her faither who was directly responsible for what became o’ our faither and maither.”

“She is nae her faither,” Adamina reminded him. “She cannae be held responsible for his actions. She is nae as he is. She does nae resemble him in any way—nae in body, heart, or mind.”

“The lass is blessed indeed tae take after her maither,” Tor agreed. “Nae man would wish tae bed a woman who looked like Alistair Morgan.”

It had never occurred to Dunn, but his siblings were right. She was nothing like her father in any way. He wondered what her mother had been like as a person. Had she been tormented by her marriage to such a monster? Had she even known the truth of the man that she had married? Did any wife know the truth of her husband, or a husband his wife? Dunn certainly did not know his own wife.

Perhaps I should change that.

Rising, he bid his family a good night, then found himself standing before Katarina’s bedchamber again. He raised his hand to knock but thought better of it and pushed the door open without warning. If she was pretending to sleep, he would catch her unawares. He discovered her as he had left her, lying abed, eyes closed, breathing even. Her hair was spread about her in abandon. The image before him was irresistible. Leaning down, he placed a kiss to her forehead, soft and sweet. Silently, he left her room, shutting the door quietly behind himself.